The Sidelines

Jun 05

Jul 02

A MetaFilter user has proposed the creation of a new sister site devoted entirely to sports that would be called Sportsfilter. "Sportsfilter is likely to be way way less a contentious place, and much quieter, as sports fans make up a smaller subset of mefites overall," notes Marienbad.

Oct 01

Aug 15

The SportsFilter Fantasy Premier League is taking entrants -- click to join. The season starts Saturday at 7:45 a.m. Eastern when Liverpool plays Stoke, so get your team picked by Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Eastern to have week 1 results count. (Later entrants also are accepted.)

Apr 25

Links

August 02

August 01

7 Days to Start of Premier League Season: The Premier League kicks off one week from today with six matches, including Chelsea beginning its championship defense against Swansea and Manchester United versus Tottenham. Join SportsFilter's long-running Fantasy Premier League game and allocate £100 million towards a starting lineup you can change each week with transfers. London24 offers tips on players to avoid, including Chelsea striker Radamel Falcao (£7.5m), Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne (£5.5m) and Southampton defender Steven Caulker (£5.5m). Man U keeper David de Gea's (£5.5m) not the best pickup either, since Louis Van Gaal just agreed Saturday to sell him to Real Madrid.

Russell Wilson Finally Cashes In with Seahawks: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and the team have agreed to a four-year, $87.6-million contract extension with $60 million guaranteed and a $31 million signing bonus. The $21.9 million average salary makes Wilson the second highest paid player in the NFL behind Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who makes $22 million. Before the deal, Wilson took Seattle to two Super Bowls, winning one, while on a rookie deal that was among the best bargains in the league at just $681,085 a year.

July 28

Mookie Betts Turns Out into Homer With Tumble Over Fence: Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts made a great catch on a deep fly ball by Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu, but Betts' momentum carried him over the fence and he dropped the ball when he landed in the Red Sox bullpen. Replay review turned the inning-ending out into a home run.

Roger Goodell Upholds Tom Brady's 4-Game Suspension on Appeal: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has upheld the four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady over the deflated-football scandal, the league announced Tuesday. In the decision, Goodell stated that part of his justification was Brady's destruction of his cell phone while league investigators were seeking information from it. "The most significant new information that emerged in connection with the appeal was evidence that on or about March 6, 2015 -- the very day he was interviewed by [Ted] Wells and his investigative team -- Brady instructed his assistant to destroy the cellphone that he had been using from early November 2014, a period that included the AFC Championship Game and the initial weeks of the subsequent investigation."

July 27

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Six: It's another week chock-full of upsets, which means the regulars continue to struggle and the rookie continues to shine. jagsnumberone adds some padding to the first-pace lead, and may in fact have a record-breaking streak on the line heading into Simcoe Day. Flip your coins and make your picks inside.

Jose Bautista calls out Colin Cowherd for insipid remarks about Dominican ballplayers: One of baseballís most vocal sluggers is not happy with Colin Cowherd for the radio hostís negative portrayal of Dominican players, and the MLB Players Association is reportedly equally upset.Saved you a click version:ďItís too complex? Iíve never bought into that 'baseball is too complex.' Really? A third of the sport is from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic has not been known in my lifetime as having world class academic abilities."

July 22

July 21

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Five: Close games all around make money for some and mud for others. The first-place tie is broken up in a big way, but say hello to the third-place logjam. Grab your cant hook and make your picks inside.

The Justice Department has ended its criminal case against Barry Bonds.: The U.S. Department of Justice will not appeal a court ruling that cleared baseball player Barry Bonds of obstruction of justice in a probe over steroids. The DOJ's move effectively ends the long criminal prosecution of the sport's career home run leader. The slugger was convicted on one obstruction charge in 2011, and the jury deadlocked on three perjury counts. His sentence of two years of probation and 30 days of home confinement was put on hold pending his appeal.

July 20

July 19

Pro Surfer Attacked by Shark During Competition: Three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning was attacked by a shark Sunday during a competition off the coast of South Africa but escaped unharmed. Fanning, 34, battled the shark for a few seconds before swimming away to be rescued by crews on jetskis and boats. "I just can't believe it," said Fanning, who was nearly overcome with emotion on multiple instances during his interview. "I'm just tripping. ... To walk away from that, I'm just so stoked." The World Surf League canceled the J-Bay Open shortly after the attack.

July 18

July 17

Cowboys, Yankees Most Valuable U.S. Sports Teams: Forbes magazine has estimated the worth of the Dallas Cowboys at $3.2 billion, making the NFL team tied for second-most valuable sports franchise on the planet behind the Real Madrid soccer club in Spain at $3.26 billion. The New York Yankees in baseball also are valued at $3.2 billion. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has the most profitable club in sports at $246 million with revenues 31 percent higher than their nearest NFL rival.

July 16

Colin Cowherd Leaving ESPN: After 12 years on ESPN Radio, Colin Cowherd is leaving and talking about a move to Fox Sports. The new president of that network, Jamie Horowitz, was producer of Cowherd's SportsNation and Sunday football shows. Ryan Glasspiegel of The Big Lead doesn't think this is due to Cowherd crossing any lines at the self-criticism averse, NFL-protecting ESPN. "The difference here was that ESPN did make an aggressive bid to keep Cowherd, but was upstaged by Fox," he writes.